‘Gross’: Serial rape suspect claims he’s a germaphobe and couldn’t have had sex

CHICAGO – A Chicago tanning salon owner accused of raping several women denied he had sex with one of the women accusing him of rape because he is a germaphobe.

Marc Winner, 47, took the stand on Thursday and denied having sex with his accuser, who is identified only as J.B.

The victim said she was menstruating when she was attacked and Winner removed her tampon. He said that's impossible because as soon as he found out she was bleeding, he said, “Gross,” and went to take a shower.

J.B. said her former boss at the West Loop tanning salon Soleil raped her at his apartment in 2009.

Winner took the stand to defend himself and said she was sending him signals all night long. He said she was flirting and overly friendly.

When prosecutors asked what those signals were, he said she smiled at him.

He claimed he fooled around with the woman and the two of them used two grams of cocaine that night while drinking.

Winner said her clothes never came off because she was wearing a dress. At the end of the night, he said she was freaking out and upset but he didn’t know why. His attorneys continue to claim this was simply a drug-fueled misunderstanding.

He’s been informally accused of sexually assaulting eight women altogether, but has only been charged in four cases.

Another one of his alleged victims testified earlier this week that he raped her back in 2012 after shoving pills down her throat, which he denies. Phone records show he called her 44 times the week after the assault.